The more resilient students are, the sooner they recover from examination stress: A daily diary study

Resilience, particularly under stressful circumstances, is essential for well-being. Prior research has shown the positive effects of resilience on overall self-esteem and emotional balance, but the dynamic nature of these attributes has consistently been overlooked. This study investigated how resilience influences state self-esteem and emotional balance during periods of examination stress. To this end, we utilized a 13-day daily diary design to collect data once a day from 212 participants (160 females; Mage = 18.30; SDage = 1.03). A multilevel linear model was constructed using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) to examine the effects of resilience on state self-esteem and emotional balance during daily stressful situations. Our findings revealed that resilience predicted higher levels of both state self-esteem and emotional balance, confirming previous studies. Notably, students with higher resilience demonstrated quicker recovery in these areas, underscoring resilience's role in sustaining well-being. This study contributes to the expanding literature on resilience by highlighting its value in maintaining self-esteem and emotional stability.